I know everyone's going to hate me for this, but I thought Odyssey was boring. Just something about it didn't keep me playing the way SM64 did. I don't know what it was about it. It just seemed repetitive and kind of lame. The worlds were big and all, but it just felt bland to me.

I wouldn't necessarily rate it poorly because it's a very well done game. It just wasn't for me. I will note that I didn't finish it, but it did get around 120-150 moons and make it through around 7 worlds, so I think I played enough to critique it. I just felt like there was no incentive to stay passed getting enough moons to leave each world. Also, the lack of a centeral hub world kind of killed the experience for me, and I felt like all of the mechanics were a bit much. I thought the introduction of a lot of new mecahnics worked well in BotW but not in this. Suffice to say, I was not a fan of cappy.

@whitefire naw I can get your POV. I don't hate Odyssey, I really enjoyed it, but I can 100% understand the criticisms that it wasn't all it was hyped up to be. It's still a great game and I love it, but I thought it was lacking in some areas. Personally I didn't think all the worlds were as well developed as they could have been, and there were lots of BotW-style open world with not much to do in spots. Which works FOR BotW, but just running through a field and ground-pounding to uncover a moon isn't satisfying. Definitely not enough actual, honest-to-goodness platforming the way Mario 64 touted it.

I think Odyssey is a great launch point for future Mario games though. I feel like if they work out the kinks as far as the different worlds go, the sequel to Odyssey will be the real Mario game I've always been waiting for.

I'll preface by saying Odyssey was a great playthrough. I'll even go as far as to say I probably enjoyed it more than Super Mario 64.

However, it does become repetitive and a lot of times I found myself just wanting to get to boss levels to find any type of action. I do feel like that most of us here aren't the target demographic for it. Just wasn't very challenging, but I don't think it's meant to be for teens and beyond. That's a big part of it feeling repetitive, it just was monotonous at times collecting moons/coins with little to no enemies. I think the game did a lot of justice to Switch graphic capabilities, because I found myself at times just really impressed with them.

It's a modern mario game. Did what it needed to, and best of all...it made the Switch the hot-seller it became, which ultimately means more support to put great games on it.

I think my biggest issue was it felt like a tutorial that never let you go. Here's a moon, here's something you can capture to get said moon, get moon. Sometimes you could get the moon without capturing the enemy for a little bit more difficulty, other times you can't. Rarely did you use a different capture than Nintendo intended to get the moon.

They should have left that more open. The captures should have been like power-ups, they are either time limited or you can keep them for the next world. For as "open" as the game was, it didn't really feel like you were given much freedom. Hopefully they can build on that in the next one.

I'm in a different boat than most in that the way y'all are describing Mario is the way I would describe Zelda. I liked Zelda a lot but there were aspects I didn't enjoy, namely the world felt massive but a little empty. I would have liked more depth to the shrines vice the repetitive nature of puzzles. More enemies and for god sakes the ability to repair weapons. Mario made me excited to go back and collect everything where as I haven't picked Zelda back up since I beat it

I think the world in Zelda is supposed of be empty a little on the empty side since the game takes place in an apocalyptic world of sorts. The game felt like the world had been wiped out and the wild life had begun taking over with human settlements strewn about.

> I'm in a different boat than most in that the way y'all are describing Mario is the

> way I would describe Zelda. I liked Zelda a lot but there were aspects I didn't enjoy,

> namely the world felt massive but a little empty. I would have liked more depth to

> the shrines vice the repetitive nature of puzzles. More enemies and for god sakes

> the ability to repair weapons. Mario made me excited to go back and collect everything

> where as I haven't picked Zelda back up since I beat it

>

The empty space in Zelda was crucial to build a realistic world. When you are first playing, you are discovering stuff everywhere you turn. There is always someplace new to explore. It's incredible. The space does make 2nd playthroughs feel kind of lame though.

>> I'm in a different boat than most in that the way y'all are describing Mario is

> the

>> way I would describe Zelda. I liked Zelda a lot but there were aspects I didn't

> enjoy,

>> namely the world felt massive but a little empty. I would have liked more depth

> to

>> the shrines vice the repetitive nature of puzzles. More enemies and for god sakes

>> the ability to repair weapons. Mario made me excited to go back and collect everything

>> where as I haven't picked Zelda back up since I beat it

>>

>

> The empty space in Zelda was crucial to build a realistic world. When you are first

> playing, you are discovering stuff everywhere you turn. There is always someplace

> new to explore. It's incredible. The space does make 2nd playthroughs feel kind of

> lame though.

I switched to Master mode and I've gotta say, it feels like you're playing the game over again. You can't just go fight anyone you want, engagements are costly and dangerous now (people who thought weapons breaking in normal mode sucked... probably need not apply to Master Mode). I find my pace in Master mode is very similar to my first playthrough. I went ahead and Cryo-bridged over to the shrine in between the mainland and the nudist island (A shrine I forgot had a piece of climbing gear, excellent!) to find out that it was a Major Test of Strength. Once again, I had to re-learn combat and ate about 15 deaths before getting attack timing down for counters, but it felt triumphant as hell taking that thing down. Before you could kinda eat some defensive food and pot up to brute force this, but with five hearts, anything but artillery fire is just instant death. Real "git gud" moment. First thing I did was sell off all my loot, buy a full set of Ninja gear and upgrade it at the fountain one level. Stealth is less of a choice and more of a lifestyle now, lol. Plus you get to sneak up on all them fishies! You also can't cheese your way to victory with a bow and arrow, I honestly don't have a lot of things I shoot at anymore. It used to solve a lot of problems but now that enemies regenerate much of the damage you cause them if you're not constantly applying pressure with pokes, you will find it difficult to finish anyone off unless you're in in CQC range.

Honestly once you get into it and give it a fair shake, Master mode feels very similar to a first playthrough. You find yourself being careful and paying attention to your surroundings to maximize your time spent exploring to find as many Koroks and chests as you can. And the weapons you find are often much, much more powerful than what you find in normal, which is great too. You won't be hanging onto Soldier equipment for extended periods, or you'll be like "Eh, these three blades are crap, I don't mind throwing them at this chest challenge". Before I prioritized Stamina for upgrades, but after getting one Stamina upgrade I've decided it's time to just go for hearts.

Master Mode's pretty dope and I like it. I'll definitely beat it this way. This'll be my first playthrough on Switch, I beat it originally on Wii U. The worst part of replaying is definitely the non-combat shrines themselves, they feel like a waste of time since you already know how to solve them. I hit the ball maze and immediately flipped my controller over and ramped it to where it needed to go. Most of them feel anticlimactic. I am excited to find the ones I missed on my first playthrough though, I don't even think I got half of them...?

I didn't mind the weapons breaking, it forced you to use weapons you never would otherwise and get familiar with the nuances of more aspects within the game. At first I didn't like the mechanic at all, but the further I got into the game then the more I understood why they implemented it as it complemented the how the gameplay was setup really well.

@DiamondDave I started a Master Mode playthrough but found it so difficult that it wasn't enjoyable. I probably relied a little too heavily on arrows in my first playthrough, so that might have something to do with it. I don't think a master mode playthrough would be worth the annoyance.

Arrows are very, very effectively neutered in Master Mode, surprisingly. You've gotta handle things up close and personal. Only had a few points of "Fudge, REALLY" so far though, so I'm gonna keep playing. I think the beasts will lay out how the rest of the playthrough will go.

But yeah, mostly use my arrow stockpile to shoot down balloons now. Incredible what a difference in power level there is between the two modes. I think if you want to take on big groups like you did in normal mode, food will be a necessity, and VERY high attention to surroundings since it'll only take one or two hits (or an elemental arrow) to completely scrub your engage. Armor upgrades as the enemies scale up in zones will also be needed so you don't get one-shot so consistently.

Took two shots and about three hours to get "back into it" in Master, but if I can adapt, I bet anyone can. I'm a pretty mediocre gamer. So far this seems doable and I think a second normal playthrough would have been boring; this is spicy enough to make me want to push forward.

If you're determined to clear it a second time, I highly recommend chucking the training wheels and throwing yourself into Master Mode, it's definitely the way I recommend re-experiencing the game. Normal just doesn't give me the same thrills anymore. Once you start opening chests and getting weapons that DON'T suck, the experience improves dramatically. Even the Major Test of Strength only took one double-edged axe (with a damage boost suffix) and about half of another 38-attack 2H sword (Durability suffix!). Maybe one other minor one-handed, but definitely 3 max.

I finally bought the BotW DLC...first thing I'm going to do is try Master mode, to see if it really does feel like a new game, as DD says.

Since the 3DS topic is closed, I'll say here that Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology releases in 2 weeks and I'm really looking forward to playing that game again. I strongly recommend it to anyone who hasn't played it and is a big fan of SNES rpgs.

Like I said, at first I didn't like it, like I was having an allergic reaction to it. Went back to it later and gave it an honest shake and 4 hours later I wouldn't have it any other way. So just be patient!

And remember, you can shoot those balloons with the floating platforms and if they're over the water, the enemy will be wasted and the chest will be yours for the taking. Just be ready to keep the pressure on your opponents and be ready to restart the more difficult encounters until you get timing and techniques down. Stonetalus Senior took me a few good shots before I had a method laid out for instance. Same with the Major Tests of Strength.

Oh, I'm looking forward to the difficulty. That was probably my favorite thing about BotW in the first place, as Zelda games are usually really easy for me. (Except Zelda II, but I even beat that one by myself before I hit puberty.)...I'm also looking forward to facing the gold enemies and the Lynel on the Great Plateau the first time I see it.

> releases in 2 weeks and I'm really looking forward to playing that game again. I

> strongly recommend it to anyone who hasn't played it and is a big fan of SNES rpgs.

>

>

ya I thought it was late march then I got an email from amazon saying it would be here next week, on kingdom come deliverance day, which I expect to take over life itself for about a month and a half or so

I was more just asking what's the record right now? If the Switch has already passed whatever system had the previous record, then the 1-year mark doesn't matter. But, if the Switch hasn't passed it yet but is super close, we can probably assume it'll get there.

Looks like BotW is going to replace TP as the best selling Zelda game...It will be interesting to see the sales figures in a few years when a lot more people have a Switch. You'd think that TP would have sold a lot more copies than it did, based on how well it started and how many Wii consoles were eventually sold. Hopefully, BotW makes Zelda a little more mainstream, like Skyrim did for Elder Scrolls.

> It will be much easier to see the comparison of fastest selling once it hits its

> 1 year mark as that's a bigger milestone and easier to find information on. Already

> passed the Wii U's lifetime though.

Granted, I didn't spend much time on it, nor do I know the best places to look, but I had trouble finding exact 1st year sale numbers for PS2 and Wii. Some sites only mentioned Japan's numbers, other would show units sold at the end of a fiscal year, which didn't match correctly with the system's first year.

Also partnering with Illumination (Despicable Me) to make a movie starring Mario, not necessarily a Mario movie. Miyamoto working on it.

On their paid online, I have a hard time believing it won't be tied to their VC. Try the games out for a month, if you ever want to play them again just drop that e-shop $. Something along those lines.

I also wonder if some of this delay will be due to something accessory related, like a new (overpriced) joycon set specifically for retro gaming, with a proper d-pad.

Man, I can't wait for the full version of Octopath Traveler. Just played through Primrose's demo and it's honestly one of the best opening chapters of any JRPG I've ever played. This game has just shot way up my most anticipated list.

I want some sort of MK tourny but I don't think that'll ever be realistic unless people signed up way ahead of time, looked forward to it enough to make it priority on the day it's set, and then actually showed up.

> I want more details on the online service. I know it'll have some classic games available.

>

> My main questions are around chat and social capabilities. I know it'll run through

> the mobile app, but for example...

>

> Will it have a "party" feature where you can hop into a party chat with friends easily,

> that transcends what game people in the party are playing?

Chat's pretty simple. You just grab your smart phone and enter the phone app. Then you enter your buddy's friend code (this format #-#-). Just remember to put a 1 in front of the friend code if they aren't local. Consult your phone's manual for party chat.

> It's just so annoying that we have to grab a phone and we can't plug headphones into

> the switch, worst idea ever.

I suppose. At the same time, for me personally, I have my phone on or near me at all times. I'm not on it all that much except for lulls during the day, but it's always within reach. So this won't be too much of a hassle for me. In fact, this will be nicer if the Switch is in docked mode because it's far away from where I sit.

But I do suppose it becomes a little redundant if it's undocked and in handheld mode. In that case, it'd be a lot easier to just plug into the Switch.

So what are you guys playing right now? I've been hooked on Rocket League. I recently beat Ittle Dew 2 and now I'm playing Steamworld Dig 2. I also just bought Max and the Curse of Brotherhood since it's on sale. I still have to play XC2, and I think I got bored of Mario & Rabbids.

Played through the Octopath Traveler demo last night, but that's it for me on the Switch for a while. The next games i'm looking forward to are Dark Souls and TWEWY. The only other game that's out that i'm interested in is Celeste, but i'm going to wait for a price drop on that one since it's digital only.

Now and then I play Splatoon 2 but mostly am still trying to get 3 stars on all cups in 200cc mode in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I only have one left to go but last time I was playing I was having issues with my left Joy-Con again and I'd end up steering into the wall. Once the Super Mario Odyssey update comes I will play that some more.

Annnnnd Amazon strikes again. I ordered Snipperclips Plus on Monday for a trip I'm taking tomorrow and still no package. This time the item left their facility, which is like 10 minutes south of me, passed less than a mile past my house, went north about 10 miles away, sat there for 2 days, now its lost and "undeliverable". I only ordered through them because I had some gift cards I wasn't using. Amazon sucks such a massive amount of balls with shipping games its unbelievable. My last 4 video game orders I'm made through them have been: my Switch, Zelda, Rabbids, and now Snipperclips, and every single one of them have been 1-2 days late, or in Shipperclips case, not show up at all. W......T.......F?

I only ordered through them this time because I had a bunch of $5 gift cards I wasn't using, so I figured why not, they've got 4 days to get this to me, even a 1 day delay means I'll get it the day before I leave. Nope.

>> I'm gonna have a hard time holding off on Skyrim for a price drop after I am done

>> with Xenoblade 2. I'll be ready to dive into another Switch RPG.

>>

>>

>

> I thought you were done already, Erick. How far along are you?

140 hours. But now I'm leveling up affinity charts of some of my favorite blades. And I still have sidequests and merc missions to do. I'm in chap 8 but I'm halting story progress to grind the other stuff.